The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) earns most of its cash from oil revenues, approximately $1 million per day. But the terror group also profits from crimes that include heritage trafficking.

"They lay waste to thousands of years of civilization in Iraq and Syria by looting and selling antiquities," David Cohen said today.

As the federal government's point-man in charge of uncovering and blocking financial support for terrorist groups, Under Secretary Cohen's insight on the topic should be given considerable weight. Since 2011, Attorney Cohen has served as Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the United States Department of the Treasury.

He made the remark about antiquities trafficking funding ISIS at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.

By Rick St. Hilaire
Text copyrighted 2014 by Cultural Heritage Lawyer. Blog url: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post without the express written consent of CHL is prohibited.

Monday, October 6, 2014

American imports of art, collections and collectors' pieces,
and antiques from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey increased
sharply between 2011 and 2013, prompting questions about whether
trafficked heritage haspiggybacked onto the mainstream marketplace.War, mass looting, and other grave threats to heritage greatly expand the risk that smuggled cultural contraband will slide into the stream of international commerce undetected. Because art and antiquities transactions often lack transparency or fail to undergo rigorous due diligence, examining published trade data is one way to potentially spot trafficked cultural material hiding under the cover of everyday imports.

One region that has witnessed grave threats to cultural heritage is the
Middle East. The intelligence
community and the academic
community both report that antiquities trafficking has generated
revenue for the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). More
investigation needs to be conducted to measure the scope of the terror group's
earnings activity, but the American Schools of
Oriental Research and others have confirmed that
archaeological site looting has been a wellspring for pillaged artifacts spilling
out of Syria and Iraq, a
result of both Syria's civil war and ISIS' sprawl. Spoils from
the region reportedly have transited through the neighboring countries of Lebanon and Turkey.
And in nearby Egypt, the country has suffered its own cultural heritage crisis amid
unrest, prompting the nation to petition for an
agreement with the United States that would help protect ancient
archaeological and ethnological materials in jeopardy.Given the cultural heritage emergency that has erupted in the Middle
East, U.S. International Trade Commission figures documenting an upsurge in imports
of Harmonized Tariff Schedule 97 goods from Egypt, Iraq,
Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey flag concerns about whether conflict antiquities have
entered America's stream of commerce. HTS 97 is the customs classification
for works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques.Total American imports of HTS 97 goods from the five countries rapidly escalated from $51.1 million in 2011 to $95.2 million in 2013--an astonishing 86% rise. The across-the-board spike can be gleaned from the table below, which displays hefty individual percentage increases of cultural imports from each of the five countries.

HTS
- 97: WORKS OF ART, COLLECTORS' PIECES AND ANTIQUES
Customs Value

U.S.
Imports for Consumption

Country

2011

2012

2013

Percent Change
2012 - 2013

In Actual Dollars

Turkey

22,778,794

24,799,487

44,715,936

80.3%

Egypt

19,546,035

20,201,597

31,383,502

55.4%

Syria

4,553,364

4,759,212

11,148,782

134.3%

Iraq

2,871,141

780,688

4,625,057

492.4%

Lebanon

1,382,136

2,120,696

3,351,462

58.0%

Goods declared by importers to be antiques of an age exceeding 100
years (HTS 9706) or collections and collectors' pieces of zoological,
botanical, mineralogical, historical, archaeological, numismatic and other
interest (HTS 9705) made up large portions of the broader category of
HTS 97 imports.*

For example, HTS 97 imports from Egypt totaling $34.1 million in 2013
largely derived from a combination of $19 million worth of objects labeled by
importers as antiques over 100 years old and $11.5 million of goods labeled as
collections and collectors' pieces.

HTS 97 imports from Syria totaling $11.1 million in 2013 almost entirely came
from $11 million worth of goods classified as antiques.

Remarkable too is that 93% of the 2013 total of HTS 97 imports from Iraq,
Lebanon, and Syria were declared to be antiques over 100 years old,
begging the question of whether nearly $18 million worth of great grandmothers'
rocking chairs and similar items were shipped to America or whether the imports
may have been ancient archaeological artifacts misclassified as
"antiques."

The table below illustrates, among other information, that commodities declared
by importers to be antiques from Iraq and Syria rocketed skyward by
672% and 133%, respectively, from 2012 to 2013.

HTS - 9706: ANTIQUES OF AN AGE EXCEEDING ONE HUNDRED YEARS

Customs Value

U.S. Imports for Consumption

Country

2011

2012

2013

Percent Change

2012 - 2013

In Actual Dollars

Turkey

15,979,030

17,553,638

19,257,308

9.7%

Egypt

16,793,409

13,817,236

19,043,410

37.8%

Syria

4,141,235

4,714,962

11,000,869

133.3%

Iraq

2,832,384

585,682

4,523,126

672.3%

Lebanon

708,461

1,392,005

2,218,073

59.3%

Declared imports of collections and collectors' pieces of zoological,
botanical, mineralogical, historical, archaeological, numismatic and other
interest goods, meanwhile, grew from $8.9 million in 2011, to $10.8 million in
2012, and then to $19 million in 2013--the final amount constituting a 113%
jump from 2011 through 2013. The table below breaks down the individual numbers
that chart this ascent. What kinds of objects actually made up these
"collections and collectors' pieces?

Traffickers have imported cultural material into the U.S. in clever ways in the past, surreptitiously labeling Hindu idols as "handicrafts," affixing "Made in Thailand" stickers on ancient Ban Chiang pots to make them appear modern, or manipulating the description of a Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton from Mongolia on customs documentation. That is why scrutinizing the art, collectors pieces, and antiques that underlie the customs data described above would go far toward confirming or dispelling the suspicion that smuggled ancient artifacts from the Mideast may have been embedded within America's conventional global trade.Among the questions requiring answers are what kinds of objects were specifically imported, and why did imports of "antiques" and "collectors' pieces" skyrocket in many instances? Were the imports classified properly or improperly? Who were the importers of record, and where did they sell their merchandise? Who were the buyers? What can the customs forms reveal about the commodities' actual countries of origin and their transshipment locations?

Data source: U.S. International Trade Commission Interactive Trade DataWeb (USITC DataWeb), as compiled by the Commission from official data retrieved from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (accessed October 2014).

Copyright note: Although the data presented here is sourced from publicly available information, it has been carefully selected, coordinated, arranged, and analyzed so that it is subject to copyright as a compilation by CHL. The publication, retransmission, or broadcast of this compiled data is strictly prohibited without CHL's express consent.
Photo credit: Svilen Milev________________

*Import data is reported to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by the owner, purchaser, or licensed broker of the consignee. They file the entry documents, not the customs officials who are unable to inspect and document every cargo shipment. So whether cultural commodities are properly classified as HTS 9705 archaeological material or HTS 9706 antiques is the responsibility of the importer. In fact whether imports are falsely classified so that they can be smuggled across the border or mistakenly classified because of a judgment error is a function of the importing party. The import classification process is a self-reporting system, part of a shared compliance program overseen by U.S. Customs that obliges the trade community to regulate itself and follow federal law. Shared compliance allows the U.S. to competitively engage the world in global commerce. But smugglers will try to exploit the gaps and loopholes.

By Rick St. HilaireText copyrighted 2014 by Cultural Heritage Lawyer. Blog url: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post without the express written consent of CHL is prohibited.

2015 ABA Journal Blawg 100 Honoree

2014 ABA Journal Blawg 100 Honoree

2014 Daniel Webster International Lawyer of the Year award given to Rick St. Hilaire

"Rick St. Hilaire, who has become an authority on cultural heritage law, received the International Law Section’s 2014 Daniel Webster International Lawyer of the Year award at an Oct. 30 reception in Manchester, hosted by Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green." - NH Bar News, November 19, 2014

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